Ball and socket joint utilizing a single ball, for driving more than one driven member

ABSTRACT

An articulating ball joint for connecting a pair of driven members to a driving member such as a crank pin. In one embodiment, a single ball is held in a first, or inner, socket defined by a coupling member having a convex outer surface, and the first socket is held within a second, outer, socket defined in a second coupling member also having a convex outer surface, which is, in turn, engaged by a retainer.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/386,270, filed Mar. 21, 2006, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/663,387, filed Mar. 21, 2005,of which the disclosure is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to mechanisms for driving wiper systems,and in particular relates to ball joints for use in mechanisms fordriving a pair of wipers using a single motor.

Windshield wipers for passenger automobiles are usually provided inpairs driven in tandem by a linkage and powered by a single motor. Arotary drive crank or eccentric driven by the motor is connected throughconnecting rods to levers that move wiper arm pivot shaftsreciprocatingly through limited arcs. Ball joints are used to attach theconnecting rods to the drive crank and the lever connected with eachwiper arm shaft, and the drive crank is rotated continuously to providecontinuous reciprocating pivoting movement in the wiper arms. With asingle eccentric or drive crank used to control a pair of wiper arms,each connecting rod is typically connected to the eccentric crank pinthrough a separate ball joint.

The wiper arm pivot shafts may not be parallel with one another nor withthe drive crank shaft, and so connection through the use of ball jointsis necessary. Both ball joints must be on the same side of the crank armin order for the crank to avoid interference with the motor.Conventionally, two ball joints are mounted on a single crank pincarried by the eccentric drive crank arm. Such a conventionalarrangement of a pair of ball joints is shown, for example, in Schmid,et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,749,341 and Stinson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,355.

Mounting a pair of ball joints alongside one another on a crank pincreates a significant lever arm length between the further one of suchball joints and the eccentric drive crank arm in which the crank pin ismounted. This long coupling may result in less precise drive of thewipers than is desired. In operating large wipers, for wiping largewindshields such as those on large trucks, motor homes, industrial andagricultural equipment, buses, or ships, the forces carried through theconnecting rods, when applied through the lever arm provided by such acrank pin and a pair of ball joints, may result in excessive amounts ofstress applied to the eccentric drive crank arm.

French Patent No. FR2789132, assigned to Peugeot Citroen Automobiles SA,discloses a ball joint connection including a single ball to drive twoconnecting rods. A first connecting rod is mated to the ball by a firstsocket having a convex exterior surface over which a second socket ismated, to attach a second connecting rod to the single ball. However,since the sockets are of resilient plastic material and apparentlymerely snap resiliently into a mating relationship, the assembly thusprovided may be subject to separation or failure under load, and thusmay not be capable of carrying larger loads which may be imposed throughuse of such of a connection in a wiper system including large wipers.

What is desired, then, is an improved close-coupled ball joint throughwhich a single ball can drive a pair of connecting members, which isable to carry large loads without failure, and which, nevertheless, canbe manufactured at a reasonable cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a single-ball drive connection system asdefined by the claims appended hereto and which is intended to overcomeone or more of the aforementioned shortcomings and disadvantages ofprior art ball-and-socket connections.

In one embodiment a pair of sockets are nested about one another and asingle ball carried on a crank pin, with an inner socket having an outersurface that is received inside an outer socket, and a retainerassociated with the crank pin keeps the two sockets from separating fromeach other and the ball.

In one embodiment the second, outer, socket has a convex outer surfaceand the retainer has a mating concave surface.

In one embodiment a first, inner, socket is mated with the ball and alsohas a convex outer surface that acts as a ball to which the outer,second, socket is mated.

The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of theinvention will be more readily understood upon consideration of thefollowing detailed description of the invention taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary isometric view of a motor vehicle showing a pairof windshield wipers and parts of a wiper drive mechanism according tothe present invention.

FIG. 2 is a simplified isometric view of a wiper drive system inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention for driving thewindshield wipers shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the windshield wiper drive assemblyshown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an exploded isometric view of a drive crank such as thatincluded in the windshield wiper drive system shown in FIGS. 2 and 3,together with a ball joint embodying one aspect of the present inventionand portions of a pair of oppositely extending connecting rods includedin the wiper drive assembly.

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of the assembled crank, ball joint, andconnecting rods shown in FIGS. 2-4.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the crank, ball joint, and connecting rodsshown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of the crank, ball joint, andconnecting rods shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6.

FIG. 8 is a rear elevational view of the crank and connecting rods shownin FIGS. 4, 5, 6, and 7.

FIG. 9 is a section view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 10 is an exploded isometric view similar to FIG. 4, but showing analternative form of the ball joint.

FIG. 11 is a section view of the ball joint shown in FIG. 10, taken inthe direction indicated by line 9-9 in FIG. 6.

FIG. 12 is an exploded section view of another alternative form of theball joint.

FIGS. 13-15 are simplified section views of ball joints which are yetother alternative embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings which form a part of the disclosureherein, in FIG. 1 an automobile 20 of which a portion is shown has awindshield 22 and wipers including wiper arms 24 mounted on pivot shafts26 driven by drive levers 28 shown in phantom view.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lever arms 28 for both wiper arms 24 are drivenby a single drive motor 30 connected through a reduction gear 32, whichmay be a worm drive, whose output shaft, or wiper drive shaft 34, isdrivingly connected to a crank arm 36.

On each of the lever arms 28, spaced apart by a suitable radius from theone of the pivot shafts 26 to which the particular lever arm 28 isattached, is a respective ball joint 38. A connecting rod 40 is attachedto one of the lever arms 28 by one ball joint 38, and a connecting rod42 is connected to the other of the lever arms 28 by the other balljoint 38. Both of the connecting rods 40 and 42 are connected to thecrank arm 36 by a single ball joint 44 which will be explained ingreater detail presently.

The crank arm 36 is driven by the drive shaft 34 in continuous rotationthrough complete revolutions, as indicated by the arrow 46. Continuousrotation of the crank arm 36 results in reciprocating pivoting motion ofthe lever arms 28 and the pivot shafts 26, as indicated by the arrows48.

As may be seen in FIGS. 4, 5, 6, and 7, the crank arm 36 includes, atits inner end, a hole 50 to accept an end of the drive shaft 34, towhich the crank arm 36 can be attached by conventional means such as akeyed mounting, a press fit, or a threaded nut to fasten the crank arm36 securely to the drive shaft 34 for rotation therewith.

Spaced apart from the hole 50 by a suitable radius designed to providethe desired distance of reciprocating movement of the outer ends of theconnecting rods 40 and 42, is a ball joint assembly 44, fastenedsecurely to the crank arm 36 and acting as a crank pin as the crank arm36 rotates during operation of the wiper drive system. The ball jointassembly 44 includes as its foundation a shaft 54 that is securelyfastened to the crank arm.

The ball joint 44 is shown in exploded view in FIG. 4, where it may beseen that there is a generally spherical ball 56 on the shaft 54. Asshown in FIG. 4 the ball 56 is integral with the shaft 54. A baseportion 58 of the shaft 54 extends through a hole 62 in the crank arm36, and is held securely in place in the crank arm 36 by a nut 64threaded onto the base 58. The shaft 54 includes a hexagonal portion 60having opposed flats to help hold the shaft 54 as the nut 64 istightened to hold the shaft attached to the crank arm 36. Alternatively,other manners of attachment of the shaft 54 to the crank arm 36 could beemployed. For example, the hole 62 might be threaded, or the baseportion 58 might be press fitted or staked into the crank arm 36 ormight be riveted into secure attachment in the hole 62.

The inboard end of the connecting rod 40 includes an end piece 66including a coupling 68 that defines a concave, or cup-like, socket 70that fits matingly on the ball 56. The connecting rod 40 extends awayfrom the crank arm 36 in a first direction, as shown in more detail andin section view in FIG. 9. This allows the connecting rod 40 to movethrough at least a limited angle about any axis with respect to thecrank arm 36, while also allowing the shaft 54 to rotate continuouslywith respect to the coupling 68 as the crank arm 36 rotates with thedrive shaft 34. An outer surface 72 of the coupling 68 is convex andpreferably concentric with the interior surface of the socket 70 andthus also concentric with the outer surface of the ball 56. The endpiece 66 provides a location for the socket 70 and the outer surface 72of the coupling 68, offset in a direction toward the crank arm 36, sothat there is ample clearance between the main body portion of theconnecting rod 40 and the crank arm 36 when the socket 70 is engagedwith the ball 56.

An inboard end piece 76 of the connecting rod 42 includes a coupling 78defining a concave, or cup-like socket 80 whose interior surface isconcave and shaped to fit matingly onto the outer surface 72 of thecoupling 68. The socket 80 and the outer surface 72 act as aball-and-socket joint similar to the interrelationship between thesocket 70 and the ball 56, with the connecting rod 42 extending awayfrom the ball joint 44 in a second direction generally opposite thedirection of the connecting rod 40.

The coupling 78 also has a convex outer surface 82 which may bespherical and also concentric with the interior surface of the socket80. A retainer 86 has an arcuately concave inner surface 88 preferablyshaped to fit matingly against the convex outer surface 82 of thecoupling 78, as a truncated ball-and-socket joint. The retainer 86 mayhave a form generally similar to that of a dished washer, and has acentral opening 90 of an appropriate size to receive the threaded bodyof a fastener 92 such as a machine bolt, that passes through the centralopening 90 of the retainer 86, through an opening 94 centrally locatedin the coupling 78, and through an opening 96 located centrally in thecoupling 68, and is mated in threads 98 within the ball 56. The fastener92 thus holds the retainer 86 in place to keep the couplings 78 and 68engaged with each other and to keep the coupling 68 mated with the ball56.

The openings 94 and 96 are both larger in diameter than the diameter ofthe threaded shank of the fastener 92, as may be seen most clearly inFIG. 9. The coupling 68 is thus afforded freedom of angular movementwith respect to the ball 56 through an angle related to the differencein size between the diameter of the opening 96 and the diameter of thebody of the fastener 92. The ball 56 is also free to rotate in thesocket 70, about the longitudinal central axis 100 of the shaft 54, asthe crank arm 36 rotates when driven by the drive shaft 34. Similarly,the coupling 78 is free to move in any direction with respect to theouter surface 72 of the coupling 68 through an angle determinedprincipally by the relative sizes of the opening 94 and the shaft of thefastener 92 and by the position of the coupling 68 relative to the ball56. The coupling 78 is also free to rotate reciprocatingly with respectto the outer surface 72 through an angle about the central axis 100,during rotation of the crank arm 36.

Since the coupling 78 is nested matingly around the coupling 68 theeffective lever arm length of the shaft 54 through which the connectingrod 42 acts on the crank arm 36 is only slightly greater than the leverarm length of the shaft 54 through which the connecting rod 40 acts onthe crank arm 36 by its contact directly on the ball 56. The ball joint44 described herein thus provides a closer coupling between theconnecting rods 40 and 42 and the crank arm 36 than is possibleutilizing the prior art arrangement of two separate ball joints carriedatop one another on a crank pin on one side of a crank arm.

As shown best in FIG. 6, the freedom of movement of the connecting rods40 and 42 as a result of the freedom of angular movement of thecouplings 68 and 78 with respect to the ball 56 and shaft 54 permits thewiper drive assembly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 to be used where the wiperarm pivot shafts 26 are not aligned parallel with each other nor withthe drive shaft 34.

The crank arm 36 and the ball joint 44 may be made of conventionalmaterials, including cast, forged, or pressed metal, or suitablyreinforced molded plastic, depending upon the size of a wiper system orother mechanism to be driven and the resulting forces expected to beencountered during service. In particular, the shaft 54 may be made of asuitable cast or machined metal or may be molded of reinforced plasticsmaterial. The end pieces 66 and 76, including the couplings 68 and 78,may be made using conventional manufacturing methods, of materials suchas suitable cast or pressed metal or molded or machined reinforcedplastics material, as determined by the loads expected to be encounteredduring use of the wiper system or other mechanism driven by the balljoint assembly 44. Thus the socket 70 of the coupling 68 may be attachedto the ball 56 with a snap fit depending on resiliency of the coupling68, and the socket 80 of the coupling 78 may be attached to the coupling68 with such a snap fit if ample angular freedom is left available insuch a design. The retainer 86 may be of similar materials.

Referring next to FIGS. 10 and 11, a ball joint 104 is in many wayssimilar to the ball joint 44, but instead of the shaft 54 there is ashaft 106 including a base portion 108 similar to the base portion 58 ofthe shaft 54. The shaft 106 includes a hexagonal flat sided section 110,a short axial spacer section 112 adjacent the hexagonal flat sidedportion 110, and a cylindrical main body portion 114 axially adjacentthe spacer 112 and further from the base portion 108. The spacer 112 islarger in diameter than the cylindrical main body portion 114 and thusdefines a narrow radial shoulder 116. A generally spherical bearingmember or ball 118 includes a central bore 120 that fits snugly on thecylindrical main body portion 114, as shown best in FIG. 11. The shaft106 has a smaller diameter portion 122 demarcated by a shoulder 124 atthe outer end of the cylindrical main body portion 114, and a helicalexternal thread 126 is defined in an outer end portion of the shaft 106,extending beyond the smaller diameter portion 122.

Instead of the separate retainer 86 included in the ball joint 44, thereis a retainer 130 including a follower portion or body defining aconcave internal surface 132 similar to the inner surface 88 of theretainer 86, and thus preferably shaped to fit matingly in contact withthe outer surface 82 of the coupling portion 78 of the end member 76 ofthe connecting rod 42. The retainer 130 defines a threaded central bore134 that fits matingly on the threaded portion 126 of the shaft 106. Ahexagonal flat sided nut-like portion 136 is integral with the body ofthe retainer 130 and facilitates connecting the retainer 132 to thethreaded portion 126 of the shaft 106. It will be appreciated that thenut-like portion 136 could have other configurations to be engaged bycorresponding tools to turn the retainer 132 into engagement on thethreads of the threaded portion 126, and that the retainer 130 could beattached to the shaft 106 in other ways including swaging, riveting, orpinning.

The configuration of the shaft 106, spherical bearing 118, and retainer130 give a manufacturing option of using different materials for theshaft 106 and the spherical bearing 118, so that the materials best forthe functions of those two parts might be used. For example, the shaft106 could be of a strong metal, while the spherical bearing 118 may beof a material that is better suited for use as a bearing than the metalchosen for use as the shaft 106.

It may be seen that the end piece 66 is fastened to the connecting rod40 by crimped indentations 138 in tubular metal material of theconnecting rod, mated in receptacles 140, as shown in the end piece 76.

Referring to FIG. 12, a ball joint 144 also includes a spherical bearing118, but has a shaft in the form of a shoulder bolt 146 having athreaded inner end portion 148 that fits matingly in a threaded bore 150in a crank arm 36′. A spacer 152 includes a central bore 153 throughwhich the cylindrical main body portion 154 of the shaft 146 fits, andthe cylindrical main body portion 154 also fits through the central bore120 in the spherical bearing 118.

Preferably, a smaller diameter portion 156 is provided on the shaft 146outwardly beyond the main body portion 154 to provide a required amountof angular clearance for the openings 94 and 96 to allow angularmovement of the couplings 68 and 78 with respect to the shaft 146. Aconcave bottom surface 158, shaped to fit matingly against the convexouter surface 82 of the coupling 78, is provided in a head 160 of theshoulder bolt 146. The head 160 may be configured as a flat-sidedhexagonal head or may have another shape that can be engaged by acorresponding wrench to fasten the shoulder bolt 146 to the crank arm36.

In FIGS. 13-15, simplified section views show additional alternativeembodiments of the ball joint including various arrangements forattaching the ball joint to a crank arm. In FIG. 13, a ball joint 164includes a base portion 166 fitting through a bore 168 in a crank arm36″, with a nut 170 engaged with the base portion 166 by suitablethreads or other fastening means. For example, the bore 168 may also bethreaded to engage the threads of the base portion 166. The base portion166 includes a concave surface 172 facing away from the crank arm, aswell as a threaded central bore 174. A shaft 176 includes a threadedportion 178 that mates with the threaded bore 174 and a head 180 thatretains a ball 118 fitted on a cylindrical main body portion 182, withthe couplings 68 and 78 of a pair of connecting rods mated with the ball118 and each other and located between the ball 118 and the surface 172of the base portion 166.

In a ball joint 186 embodying a slightly different arrangement, shown inFIG. 14, a shaft 188 has a threaded end portion 190 engaged with thecrank arm 36″ and also has an integral base portion 192 with threads 193mated with threads in the crank arm 36′. A concave upper surface 194 ofthe base portion 192 fits matingly against the convex outer surface 82of the coupling 78, which is nested with the coupling 68, which is matedwith a spherical ball 118 fitted on a main cylindrical body portion 196.A screw 198 is fitted in a threaded bore 200 to keep the ball 118 on themain cylindrical body portion 196.

A ball joint 202, shown in FIG. 15, is a variation of the ball joint164, shown in FIG. 13. A base portion 204 has an outwardly facingconcave surface 206, and a shaft portion 208 extends from the center ofthe concave surface 206. A threaded portion 210 of the shaft 208 isreceived and held in a threaded bore 212 defined centrally within acylindrical body 214 on which a spherical ball 118 is mounted, and ahead 216 on the body 214 retains the spherical ball 118 in place. Thecouplings 68 and 78 are mated with the ball 118 and each other, and theouter convex surface 82 of the coupling 78 fits against the concavesurface 206 of the base 204 as in the ball joints 164 and 186.

The terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoingspecification are used therein as terms of description and not oflimitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms andexpressions of excluding equivalents of the features shown and describedor portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the inventionis defined and limited only by the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A ball-and-socket drive joint, comprising: (a) ashaft; (b) a drive ball located on said shaft; (c) a first couplingmember including a first socket engaging said drive ball, said firstcoupling member having a convex outer surface extending around at leasta portion of said first socket, said first coupling member defining acentral opening through said first coupling member, and said shaftextending through said opening; (d) a second coupling member including asecond socket and having a central opening extending through said secondsocket, said convex outer surface of said first coupling member fittingmatingly in said second socket and said first coupling member beingangularly moveable in said second socket; and (e) a retainerinterconnected with said shaft and keeping said first and secondcoupling members from being separated from said shaft.
 2. The drivejoint of claim 1 wherein said second coupling member has a convex outersurface and said retainer has a concave surface matingly disposed incontact with said convex outer surface of said second coupling member.3. The drive joint of claim 1 wherein said shaft has a base including amounting device.
 4. The drive joint of claim 3 wherein said drive ballis located on said shaft adjacent said base.
 5. The drive joint of claim1 wherein said shaft has a base and an outer end and said drive ball islocated on said shaft between said base and said outer end.
 6. The drivejoint of claim 5 wherein said shaft includes a cylindrical main bodyportion and said drive ball is located on said cylindrical main bodyportion.
 7. The drive joint of claim 1 wherein said second couplingmember has a convex outer surface extending around at least a portion ofsaid second socket and wherein said retainer is located adjacent saidsecond coupling member and includes a concave surface confronting saidsecond coupling member.
 8. The drive joint of claim 7 wherein said shafthas a portion that extends beyond said drive ball and that includes anexternal thread, and wherein said retainer has an internally threadedbore mated with said external thread.
 9. A ball-and-socket articulatingdrive joint for a plurality of driven members, comprising: (a) a shaftincluding a main body portion and an outer end portion extending beyondsaid body portion; (b) a drive ball located on said main body portion ofsaid shaft; (c) a first connecting member including a first couplingmember defining a first socket matingly engaged with and moveable aboutsaid drive ball, said first coupling member defining a firstthrough-hole and having a convex outer surface; (d) a second connectingmember including a second coupling member defining a second through-holeand including a second socket engaged matingly with said convex outersurface of said first coupling member; and (e) a retainer fastened tosaid outer end portion of said shaft and located so as to keep saidsecond socket of said second coupling member matingly engaged with saidconvex surface of said first coupling member.
 10. The articulating jointof claim 9 wherein outer end portion of said shaft includes an externalthread and said retainer includes an internally threaded bore matinglyengaged with said external thread and has a concave surface extendingradially outward from said outer end and disposed in a matingrelationship with said convex outer surface of said second couplingmember.
 11. The articulating joint of claim 9 wherein said secondcoupling member includes a convex outer surface and said retainerincludes a correspondingly shaped concave surface disposed matinglyadjacent said convex outer surface of said second coupling member. 12.The articulating joint of claim 11 wherein said shaft has an externalthread, and wherein said retainer includes a body defining a threadedbore mated with said external thread on said shaft.
 13. The articulatingjoint of claim 12 wherein said concave surface of said retainer isdefined on a follower portion that is integral with said body thereof.14. The articulating joint of claim 9 wherein said drive ball defines acentral bore extending therethrough and receiving said main body portionof said shaft.
 15. The articulating joint of claim 9 wherein said shaftis a crank pin.
 16. A wiper drive assembly, comprising: (a) a pair ofwiper arm pivot shafts supported in suitable bearings for reciprocatingrotation; (b) a respective drive lever attached drivingly to each saidwiper arm pivot shaft; (c) a crank shaft mounted rotatably; (d) a crankarm extending radially from said crank shaft; (e) a pair of connectingrods, a respective one of said connecting rods being interconnectedbetween said crank arm and each said drive lever so as to cause saidwiper arm pivot shafts to rotate reciprocatingly through an angle inresponse to continuous rotation of said crank shaft; and (f) a singleball connector mounted on said crank arm and interconnecting both ofsaid connecting rods with said crank arm, said single ball connectorincluding: (i) a shaft; (ii) a drive ball located on said shaft; (iii) afirst coupling member including a first socket engaging said drive ball,said first coupling member having a convex outer surface extendingaround at least a portion of said first socket, said first couplingmember defining a central opening through said first socket, and saidshaft extending through said opening; (iv) a second coupling memberincluding a second socket and having a central opening extending throughsaid second socket, said convex outer surface of said first couplingmember fitting matingly in said second socket and said first couplingmember being angularly moveable in said second socket; and (v) aretainer interconnected with said shaft and keeping said first andsecond coupling members from being separated from said shaft.
 17. Adrive linkage for driving a pair of driven shafts in reciprocatinglocation by continuous rotation of a driving shaft which need not beparallel with either of said driven shafts, comprising: (a) a respectivedrive lever attached drivingly to and extending radially from each ofsaid driven shafts; (b) a crank arm mounted on and driven by saiddriving shaft; (c) a single-ball coupling mounted on said crank arm; (d)a respective connecting rod having an outer end pivotably connected witheach of said drive levers, each said respective connecting rod having aninner end connected with and driven by said single-ball coupling; andwherein said single-ball coupling comprises: (i) a shaft; (ii) a driveball located on said shaft; (iii) a first coupling member including afirst socket engaging said drive ball, said first coupling member havinga convex outer surface extending around at least a portion of said firstsocket, said first coupling member defining a central opening throughsaid first socket, and said shaft extending through said opening; (iv) asecond coupling member including a second socket and having a centralopening extending through said second socket, said convex outer surfaceof said first coupling member fitting matingly in said second socket andsaid first coupling member being angularly moveable in said secondsocket; and (v) a retainer interconnected with said shaft and keepingsaid first and second coupling members from being separated from saidshaft.